ASPA's 2019 Annual Conference will take place March 8-12 in Washington, DC. With less than four months to go, our early-bird registration rate will expire in just five weeks.

As you make your plans to attend, we are pleased to announce that we expect more than 15 presidential panels to take place throughout the five-day event, emphasizing calls for action on some of the most critical public administration challenges of our time. These panels go in-depth on specifically chosen topics featuring discipline experts that bring special focus to issues and current events important enough to warrant all attendees' attention. This year's topics, more of which will be announced in the weeks ahead, are built around the five conference tracks: global public administration, infrastructure, public finance, public service and social equity.

Panel topics will include:

Revitalizing the Middle Class: Workforce Issues

Assessing the Trump Administration's Management Agenda: A Media Panel

The Future Has Begun: Using Artificial Intelligence to Transform Government

Developing the Next Generation of Public Service Leaders

The New Financial Sustainability Framework

Census 2020: A Count that Matters

America's Infrastructure: Is a D+ Acceptable?

A Call for Action: Public Administration Advancing the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict Nations

Visit our website to see the full list and topic descriptions. Speakers will be added shortly. These are discussions you should not miss, as we look closely at the state of public administration and public service in our country.

Our early-bird registration fee is only $439 (members) and is valid through January 19, 2019. Start getting approval now so you can be in the audience this March!

2018 has been a year marked by change, challenges and uncertainty. The public service is under pressure as never before. At the same time, we must confront our common problems globally, and all too often it falls to government's professionals to address them. Public administrators are delivering on the lofty promises found in our foundational documents, our laws and our political campaigns. We need to continue to equip public servants to solve problems, argue for the resources they need and demonstrate that public and nonprofit professionals across all services are critical to our well-being.

But for all of us committed to the public good—as scholars, practitioners, students and those new to public service—we know this: The need for effective, efficient and equitable public service is greater than ever. Please show your support with a generous financial gift this holiday season.

There are many reasons to include ASPA in your end-of-year giving. Some are:

ASPA has been the leading advocate for the public service, at all levels of government, for almost 80 years.

ASPA has demonstrably advanced the status and leadership of women and minorities in the practice of public administration.

ASPA is the only professional organization that encompasses the full toolkit of competencies public servants are likely to need throughout the course of their careers.

ASPA's members and Sections have built a compelling body of knowledge via a dozen scholarly journals, beginning with the field's leading journal, Public Administration Review.

That is what ASPA is all about and your tax-deductible gift will provide us with critical resources to strengthen our professional development programming for the next generation of public service leaders. It also will enhance ASPA's technological capacity and, most importantly, it will support continued innovation and activities that fulfill our mission to advancing excellence in public service.

Your support at the $25, $50, $100 or even $250 level is absolutely essential to ensuring the future of ASPA and public service.

Our goal is to build the ASPA Endowment to $1 million in 2019, $2 million in 2020 and $10 million in 2030. Those funds will be put to work to:

Bridge our practitioner and academic communities.

Provide the welcoming place for our next generation of public service leaders to gain the professional skills they need for a successful career.

Share proven ways to strengthen our practice and scholarship ... and celebrate those who do it every day.

Whether you make a one-time gift or a recurring one, small or large, what matters most is that you are contributing to the public good. For ASPA, your support will help ensure that the next generation of leaders make us their professional home. For the public we serve, your investment will send a clear message that public service is a noble calling, that our work matters each and every day and that there is much more we can accomplish together. More than ever, ASPA must have a steady flow of resources to serve as a strong voice in support of those values.

ASPA's webinars are ongoing throughout the year. Averaging 75 attendees per event and free to participate, these e-learning opportunities provide you with valuable insights and information at your fingertips. Visit our website to stay informed about all upcoming webinars including KeepingCurrent, BookTalks and the Student and New Professionals Series.

Decentralization has been among hot topics of public administration reforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the past decade or longer. Much hope has been invested in the potential of strengthened and empowered local governments to provide satisfactory services the traditional centralized administration failed to do. However, a close look at both studies and practice of decentralization in MENA often reveals lack of consistency in the use of the term, "decentralization." This webinar, sponsored by ASPA's Section on Effective and Sound Administration in the Middle East and Middle East Development Network, will look closely at this issue.

KeepingCurrent: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities With Open Data in Government
Dec. 18 | 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. EST
Presenters:
David Doyle, City of Seattle
Michael Jacobson, Moderator, King County, WA
Tyler Kleykamp, State of Connecticut
Thomas J. McCabe, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance, this webinar will address the evolution of open data as it pertains to government services. Hear from representatives from the Government Accountability Office, the State of Connecticut and a former City of Seattle open data expert.

Do you love ASPA and the benefits that come with membership? We hope so. That's why, this holiday season, we want ASPA to be the gift that keeps on giving!

Continuing through the end of December, members who recruit new members will receive a $10 credit on their membership, good toward your next year's dues—and your recruit will receive a $10 credit toward their renewal next year.

There's some fine print associated with this offer, so if you are interested in taking advantage of it, please contact us for more information. Note that this offer only applies to members joining ASPA between today and December 31, 2018, so you should act now! (If you work for a government agency that needs more time to process paperwork, we can work with you! Let us know about your constraints and we will see how we can help you use this offer.)

Let your friends, family, colleagues and students get their new year started on the right foot with a year of ASPA membership. Click here to join now!

If you receive the Bridge and are not currently an ASPA member, let us know if you are interested in becoming one!

If you are reading the range of articles PA TIMES Online publishes twice a week, you know our authors provide you and the broader public administration community with new concepts, idea starters and valued commentary. If you are interested in joining our author pool for 2019, you are down to your final days to do so.

We are looking for columnists who can speak to a range of subjects throughout the year. Topics include:

Infrastructure and technology

Revitalizing the middle class

Social equity

Budgets and financial management

Performance management

Workforce automation

Volunteerism

Evidence-based decisionmaking

Columnists must be able to write regularly for PA TIMES Online throughout the year, either as a quarterly columnist or on a monthly basis. (Publication deadlines will be provided by the PA TIMES editorial team.)

The University of Delaware's Biden Institute hosted the Biden Challenge: How to Revitalize the Middle Class this past September. The Challenge provided policymakers, scholars and nonprofit leaders with a space to discuss solutions to ensure a growing and thriving American middle class. Panel presentations throughout the day discussed policy proposals on key topics that included:

Budget priorities

Workforce dynamics

The role of innovation

If there was one clear takeaway from the conference, it was that the conversation to revitalize the middle class is too great for just a single day. In that spirit, the Biden Institute has announced the launch of the Biden Challenge website. Here you will find complete video recordings from each panel and keynote presentation, as well as a blog section meant to extend the "ideas exchanges" that took place at the conference.

Already posted to the site include blog posts from Vice President Biden, Jos C.N. Raadschelders, Laura W. Perna, Stephanie Hoopes and other contributors. In addition to the growing online content, the University and Institute plan to continue the conversation around revitalizing the middle class, including at ASPA's Annual Conference in March 2019 in Washington, D.C.

Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from the past few weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!Infrastructure

In addition to the above headlines, two new reports were released in recent weeks that may be informative.

First, the Local and Regional Government Alliance on Race & Equity released its report, Equitable Development as a Tool to Advance Racial Equity, as shared by the National Civic League (NCL). The report "provides a policy framework for implementation strategies that advance equitable development," addressing urban issues that offset "re-urbanization", including exorbitant housing prices and gentrification. As noted by the NCL, "This policy framework can help cities ensure that economic growth is equitable and that the benefits of growth—including better services, parks, higher quality housing, and public transportation—are available to everyone."

The Brookings Institution also released an equity report, The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods, as reported by RouteFifty. According to the article, research from Brookings and Gallup show that homes in majority-black neighborhoods are worth $48,000 less, on average, than similar ones in neighborhoods with no black residents. This report seeks to address the question, "What is the cost of racial bias?" The results are pretty clear. (View the RouteFifty article here.)

The 2018 International Conference on Public Administration (13th ICPA) was held at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, from November 30 through December 2.

Sponsored by UESTC and ASPA, ICPA is an international academic conference hosted annually by UESTC and a different international university every other year. Themed "Improving the agility of government organizations," this year's event attracted an array of academics and practitioners from countries and regions including China, the United States, Russia, Poland, Singapore, Japan, Korea, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Sudan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The conference organizing committee approved 50 papers for discussion at the conference, some of whose authors were granted best paper awards at the conference. Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, director of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and Kingsley Agomor, a senior lecturer at GIMPA, won first prize with their paper entitled "Financing Public Universities in Africa Through Strategic Agility: Lessons from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (Ghana)."

"It is the honor and responsibility of UESTC to promote international academic exchange in the field of public administration and to help build a platform for cooperation and exchange in public administration between China and abroad," said Zeng Yong, president of UESTC. Zeng said the ICPA has been growing to become one of the world’s most influential academic platforms in public administration research and scholarship since its establishment. The first ICPA was held at UESTC in 2005.

The 14th ICPA will be held at Syracuse University in the United States in 2019.

The University of Delaware is pleased to announce the establishment of the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. The Biden School is poised to build upon its existing strengths to become a globally recognized, comprehensive school of public affairs that offers outstanding academic programs, conducts interdisciplinary research on critical challenges, and carries out public and community service to improve the quality of life in Delaware, across the nation and around the world. Click here for more information.

Professors at Point University will be hosting the ASPA GA Chapter's 2019 Statewide Academic Conference, March 29-30, 2019 in Peachtree City, Georgia. The theme for the conference is "Re-Imagining Public Service Leadership in an Era of Challenge, Change and Crisis Management." The conference committee welcomes innovative proposals that reflect best practices, rethinking of current practices, represent benchmarks, lessons learned with a focus on the future of the field. Paper proposals are due to aspaga2019@gmail.com no later than Dec. 15, 2018. Click here for more information.

The International Chapter is seeking candidates for its Mary Hamilton Award. Applicants must show they have enhanced the field of public administration, shared their contributions and learning, have served as a mentor/role model and have worked to develop the ideals of democracy and social justice. All nominees must be received by Dec. 20, 2018. Click here for more information.

Students in graduate programs are invited to submit their papers on any environmental topic for consideration in ASPA's Section on Environmental and Natural Resources Administration (SENRA) annual student paper competition. Faculty members can also nominate student paper(s) for submission. Conference papers, term papers, journal manuscripts are eligible for submission; literature reviews and review essays are ineligible. Please note: Only one submission per student will be allowed and the paper should be written entirely by the student and not coauthored with any faculty member. The best paper will be awarded a prize of $200 and the author will receive a certificate of recognition from SENRA at ASPA's 2019 Annual Conference. All papers must be received by Dec. 31, 2018. Click here for more information.

The 2019 Conference of Minority Public Administrators' (COMPA) Annual Conference will take place March 5-7, 2019 in Baltimore. The conference theme, "A Call for Action: The Public Administration Seat at the Decision Making Table" is based on the idea of promoting and highlighting the need to have the voice of public administrators as part of the decision- and policymaking process. One of the goals of the 2019 conference is to demonstrate and reiterate the importance of the skill set, experience, knowledge and perspective of public administrators. Another goal is to create pathways for the next generation of our leadership to have a seat at the decision making table, take action and continue blazing trails of success. Tracks and submission information are available online. All proposals are due Jan. 7, 2019. Click here for more information.

The Andrew Young School's Center for State and Local Finance invites you to register for executive education courses, continuing throughout the rest of the school year. Class participants typically include chief financial officers, finance directors, budget and procurement staff, county administrators and others looking to hone their skills and advance their careers. The course schedule proceeds as follows:

The ASPA Section on Public Administration Research (SPAR) invites your nominations for the SPAR Annual Best Book award. This recognition is awarded at ASPA's Annual Conference. We welcome nominations for books on public administration published in 2018. A subcommittee of SPAR members will review each of the nominations and choose the award winner. The criterion for the award is a book that significantly contributes to research in public administration. All research methods are welcomed as are books across the wide range of public administration research. All nominations are due January 12, 2019. Click here for more information.

In 2018, NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement will mark its fifth year of advancing public procurement through offering research grants on topics that connect procurement practice to performance. Given this significant milestone, NIGP is seeking to create a true, impactful State of the Industry report for the public procurement discipline, which will allow NIGP to begin to provide the most comprehensive outlook and overview of the evolving public procurement industry. The goal of the report is to promote independent research, particularly works helping to integrate modern technologies that offer innovative approaches and those that contribute to a better understanding of the information environment, user expectations and stakeholder interactions. NIGP will prioritize submissions that integrate diversity, inclusion and equality aspects into its research areas. One or more grants totaling $20,000 will be awarded. All grant applications are due by Feb. 15, 2019. Click here for more information.

Since 1949, the National Civic League has designated 10 communities each year as All-America Cities for their outstanding civic accomplishments. The National Civic League is now accepting applications for its 2019 All-America City Award, focused on celebrating examples of civic engagement practices that advance health equity in local communities. They are looking for communities that demonstrate inclusive decisionmaking processes to create better health for all, and particularly for populations currently experiencing poorer health outcomes. Begin your community's application today to become a 2019 All-America City! Cities, counties, towns and tribes wishing to apply have until March 5, 2019 to submit their application. Click here for more information.

To further stimulate the creation of effective and innovative teaching cases and simulations, the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at the Syracuse University Maxwell School is sponsoring its 12th annual competition of E-PARCC. E-PARCC is a project of the "Collaborative Governance Initiative" launched in 2007. It provides free online resources for those who teach collaborative public management, networks and public management, collaborative governance, international development and collaborative problem solving around the world. More than 3,000 visitors per month from 40 different countries take advantage of E-PARCC teaching materials. There are two competitions this year and all entries are due by March 15, 2019. Click here for more information.

The South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM) will hold its 2019 conference May 7-10, 2019 at the University of Mpumalanga, Nelspruit. The theme of the conference will be, "Public Affairs, Governance and the Fourth Industrial Revolution." Political parties in government are often considered catalysts in providing interventions to addressing some of these basic human needs issues in cases where they have collective value for a society. Classification of government in ministries and departments is an example of providing a focused approach to identify those needs which are inherently to the benefit of society as opposed to individual or private. This begs for an art of public affairs and governance to provide institutional mechanisms to realize set goals for each area. Click here for more information.

Fifty years after the passage of the Fair Housing and Civil Rights Act, we are more aware than ever before of the damaging effects of segregation and concentrated poverty in America. Research repeatedly shows us poor and underrepresented communities in segregated urban housing markets suffer diminished outcomes in education, economic mobility, political participation, and physical and psychological health. A new volume from Molly Metzger and Henry Webber brings together some of the United States’ most important scholars, practitioners and policy analysts to examine how we can use public policy to reduce segregation in our cities. The volume refocuses attention on achievable solutions by providing not only an overview of this timely subject, but also a roadmap forward for the 21st century. Click here for more information.

Playlists include integrity, ethical decisionmaking, organizational ethics, ethics and integrity research, and corruption. If you have published an article in Public Integrity and would like to contribute a video that is in line with the journal's mission, please submit your idea for consideration to donmenzel@verizon.net. You can find our journal information online here.

Find your next career opportunity at publicservicecareers.org. This online job board is the perfect resource for making a career change or landing your first job in the public service. It lists dozens of positions in academia, government and the nonprofit sector. Below are just a few current listings.